Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 Namaqua Sandgrouse |
 Large-billed Lark |
 Karoo Chat |
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 Mountain Wheatears |
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Overview
This three-day Tankwa Karoo birding tour was put together for Richard who was in Cape Town for the first time and had a few free days to spare to try and find some South African endemics and near-endemics. As it was Richard’s first time in South Africa it was not only endemics and near-endemics which were on the target list, as we tried to track down a number of other more widespread species. We also spent some time around Cape Town on the final afternoon as we birded a wetland area, just north of the city. Some of the better birds we found on this trip included Grey-winged Francolin, Freckled Nightjar, Namaqua Sandgrouse, Verreaux’s Eagle, Acacia Pied Barbet, Pririt Batis, Fairy Flycatcher, Spike-heeled, Karoo Long-billed, Karoo and Large-billed Larks, Namaqua, Cinnamon-breasted, Rufous-eared and Layard’s Warblers, Karoo Eremomela, Karoo and Tractrac Chats and Protea Canary.
Detailed Report
Day 1, 19th March. Cape Town to Tankwa Karoo
I picked up Richard well before dawn and we decided to give African Wood Owl a go around Cape Town which worked well with an extremely obliging pair, as well as a displaying African Goshawk, once some daylight started to appear. After this fairly brief stop we headed out of the city and made a stop on the Dutoitskloof Pass to try for a few mountain fynbos specials. Unfortunately, we could not see the vocal Victorin’s Warbler however we did manage to find Cape Siskin, Cape Batis, Southern Boubou, Cape Bulbul, Neddicky, Karoo Prinia, Cape Sugarbird and Orange-breasted Sunbird. We briefly heard Protea Canary however unfortunately it would not show for us (for now!).
After we’d enjoyed some breakfast in the mountain fynbos we decided to head further west into the Tankwa Karoo plains which offered us a very different set of birds and scenery. On our way to the Tankwa Karoo we saw a Hamerkop which is not an easy bird in the southwestern Cape. Our first birding stop was at a small farmhouse which had good birds such as Cardinal Woodpecker, Red-faced and White-backed Mousebirds, Acacia Pied Barbet, Pied Starling, Fiscal Flycatcher, Karoo Scrub Robin, Mountain Wheatear and Cape Weaver. After this it was into the plains proper where we found further Karoo specials such as Yellow Canary, Karoo Lark, Karoo and Tractrac Chats, Rufous-eared Warbler and calling Karoo Korhaans, which unfortunately would not show for us. A pair of Namaqua Sandgrouse then wandered across the road and showed really well.
For our lunch break we stopped at a small patch of acacia trees which proved really productive, with Pririt Batis, Namaqua Warbler, Chestnut-vented Warbler, Yellow-bellied Eremomela and Karoo Scrub Robin all showing well.
After lunch we headed to Skitterykloof Gorge where Cinnamon-breasted Warbler was our major target. The warbler did not show this afternoon although we did hear at least two birds singing. We did however manage to see Cape Spurfowl, African Reed Warbler, Grey-backed Cisticola, Mountain Wheatear and a pair of Pale-winged Starlings which are at the southern limit of their range here. After a long and productive day of birding we headed to our comfortable accommodation and prepared for another day in the Tankwa Karoo.
Day 2, 20th March. Tankwa Karoo birding
We left our accommodation before sunrise and made our way back into the semi-desert plains where we would spend most of the day. En route to the plains we found a covey of Grey-winged Francolins which can be a tricky species to see out here. Soon after arriving in the plains, we found Spike-heeled and Large-billed Larks, Karoo and Tractrac Chats, Bokmakierie and a small group of foraging Karoo Eremomelas which are always a delight to see.
We arrived back at Skitterykloof Gorge around mid-morning and spent a while scanning rocky slopes until we eventually had brief views of Cinnamon-breasted Warbler and also found Layard’s Warbler, Mountain Wheatear, Pale-winged Starling, Streaky-headed Seedeater and Yellow and White-throated Canaries. Grey Tit teased us by calling nearby but would not show for us.
After a couple hours at Skitterykloof we headed back north through the plains and eventually made it to the Tankwa Karoo National Park. Bird numbers (as always) were low here, but we did find Namaqua Sandgrouse, Karoo Eremomela, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Red-capped Lark and displaying Karoo Long-billed Lark. An almost entirely white (leucistic) Common Ostrich was a strange sight in amongst other more conventionally colored specimens.
As we made our way back south through the plains we were hit with a big thunderstorm and heavy rain which was quite something to experience in the semi-desert of the Tankwa Karoo. After we arrived back at our accommodation, we still had some light left and so took a walk around the area, which had some nice birds such as Cape and Southern Masked Weavers, Swee Waxbill, Giant Kingfisher, Yellow Bishop and African Black Duck. As we came back from dinner in the evening, we were greeted by two Freckled Nightjars and four Spotted Eagle-Owls, a great way to end the day!
Day 3, 21st March 2022. Mountain fynbos and wetland birding
After having found just about all of our Karoo targets, we decided to spend the day birding in the mountain fynbos around Ceres and also a couple spots around Cape Town which could yield some more targets for Richard. Our first stop was Gydo Pass which was really productive and provided us with some fantastic views over the Ceres Valley. Some of our better birds seen here included Lark-like Bunting, Cape Grassbird, Bar-throated Apalis, Brimstone Canary, Southern Boubou, Bokmakierie and Fiscal Flycatcher. Later in the morning we headed to the nearby Michell’s Pass where at last our target bird showed up, with a lovely sighting of a pair of Protea Canaries.
We then took the drive back towards Cape Town where we enjoyed a couple of hours of wetland birding in the late afternoon at Rietvlei Nature Reserve and some other nearby wetlands. We had many interesting waterbirds and water-associated species here such as African Swamphen, Red-knobbed Coot, Cape and Blue-billed Teals, Cape Shoveler, Great Crested Grebe, African Snipe, Glossy Ibis, African Marsh Harrier and Southern Red Bishop. I dropped off Richard late in the afternoon back in Muizenberg where we called it a day after a fun weekend in the Tankwa Karoo.
Bird List - Following IOC (12.1)
Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen.
Common Name/Scientific Name
Ostriches (Struthionidae)
Common Ostrich/Struthio camelus
Ducks, Geese, Swans (Anatidae)
Spur-winged Goose/Plectropterus gambensis
Egyptian Goose/Alopochen aegyptiaca
South African Shelduck/Tadorna cana
Blue-billed Teal/Spatula hottentota
Cape Shoveler/Spatula smithii
African Black Duck/Anas sparsa
Yellow-billed Duck/Anas undulata
Cape Teal/Anas capensis
Guineafowl (Numididae)
Helmeted Guineafowl/Numida meleagris
Pheasants & Allies (Phasianidae)
Grey-winged Francolin/Scleroptila afra
Cape Spurfowl/Pternistis capensis
Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)
Freckled Nightjar/Caprimulgus tristigma
Swifts (Apodidae)
Alpine Swift/Tachymarptis melba
Little Swift/Apus affinis
White-rumped Swift/Apus caffer
Bustards (Otididae)
Karoo Korhaan (H)/Eupodotis vigorsii
Sandgrouse (Pteroclidae)
Namaqua Sandgrouse/Pterocles namaqua
Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)
Rock Dove/Columba livia
Speckled Pigeon/Columba guinea
Red-eyed Dove/Streptopelia semitorquata
Ring-necked Dove/Streptopelia capicola
Laughing Dove/Spilopelia senegalensis
Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae)
Common Moorhen/Gallinula chloropus
Red-knobbed Coot/Fulica cristata
African Swamphen/Porphyrio madagascariensis
Grebes (Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe/Tachybaptus ruficollis
Great Crested Grebe/Podiceps cristatus
Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)
Greater Flamingo/Phoenicopterus roseus
Stilts, Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
Black-winged Stilt/Himantopus himantopus
Plovers (Charadriidae)
Blacksmith Lapwing/Vanellus armatus
Three-banded Plover/Charadrius tricollaris
Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae)
Little Stint/Calidris minuta
African Snipe/Gallinago nigripennis
Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Hartlaub's Gull/Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
Kelp Gull/Larus dominicanus
Greater Crested Tern/Thalasseus bergii
Sandwich Tern/Thalasseus sandvicensis
Common Tern/Sterna hirundo
Anhingas, Darters (Anhingidae)
African Darter/Anhinga rufa
Cormorants, Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
Reed Cormorant/Microcarbo africanus
White-breasted Cormorant/Phalacrocorax lucidus
Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
African Sacred Ibis/Threskiornis aethiopicus
Hadada Ibis/Bostrychia hagedash
Glossy Ibis/Plegadis falcinellus
Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Western Cattle Egret/Bubulcus ibis
Grey Heron/Ardea cinerea
Black-headed Heron/Ardea melanocephala
Little Egret/Egretta garzetta
Hamerkop (Scopidae)
Hamerkop/Scopus umbretta
Kites, Hawks, Eagles (Accipitridae)
Black-winged Kite/Elanus caeruleus
African Harrier-Hawk/Polyboroides typus
Booted Eagle/Hieraaetus pennatus
Verreaux's Eagle/Aquila verreauxii
Pale Chanting Goshawk/Melierax canorus
African Goshawk/Accipiter tachiro
Black Sparrowhawk/Accipiter melanoleucus
African Marsh Harrier/Circus ranivorus
Jackal Buzzard/Buteo rufofuscus
Owls (Strigidae)
Spotted Eagle-Owl/Bubo africanus
African Wood Owl/Strix woodfordii
Mousebirds (Coliidae)
Speckled Mousebird/Colius striatus
White-backed Mousebird/Colius colius
Red-faced Mousebird/Urocolius indicus
Hoopoes (Upupidae)
African Hoopoe/Upupa africana
Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
Malachite Kingfisher/Corythornis cristatus
Giant Kingfisher/Megaceryle maxima
African Barbets (Lybiidae)
Acacia Pied Barbet/Tricholaema leucomelas
Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Cardinal Woodpecker/Dendropicos fuscescens
Caracaras, Falcons (Falconidae)
Rock Kestrel/Falco rupicolus
Wattle-eyes, Batises (Platysteiridae)
Cape Batis/Batis capensis
Pririt Batis/Batis pririt
Bushshrikes (Malaconotidae)
Bokmakierie/Telophorus zeylonus
Southern Boubou/Laniarius ferrugineus
Shrikes (Laniidae)
Southern Fiscal/Lanius collaris
Monarchs (Monarchidae)
African Paradise Flycatcher (H)/Terpsiphone viridis
Crows, Jays (Corvidae)
Pied Crow/Corvus albus
White-necked Raven/Corvus albicollis
Fairy Flycatchers (Stenostiridae)
Fairy Flycatcher/Stenostira scita
Tits, Chickadees (Paridae)
Grey Tit (H)/Melaniparus afer
Larks (Alaudidae)
Spike-heeled Lark/Chersomanes albofasciata
Karoo Long-billed Lark/Certhilauda subcoronata
Karoo Lark/Calendulauda albescens
Large-billed Lark/Galerida magnirostris
Red-capped Lark/Calandrella cinerea
Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)
Cape Bulbul/Pycnonotus capensis
Swallows, Martins (Hirundinidae)
Rock Martin/Ptyonoprogne fuligula
White-throated Swallow/Hirundo albigularis
Barn Swallow/Hirundo rustica
Common House Martin/Delichon urbicum
Greater Striped Swallow/Cecropis cucullata
Crombecs, African Warblers (Macrosphenidae)
Cape Grassbird/Sphenoeacus afer
Victorin's Warbler (H)/Cryptillas victorini
Reed Warblers & Allies (Acrocephalidae)
Lesser Swamp Warbler (H)/Acrocephalus gracilirostris
African Reed Warbler/Acrocephalus baeticatus
Cisticolas & Allies (Cisticolidae)
Grey-backed Cisticola/Cisticola subruficapilla
Levaillant's Cisticola/Cisticola tinniens
Neddicky/Cisticola fulvicapilla
Zitting Cisticola/Cisticola juncidis
Karoo Prinia/Prinia maculosa
Namaqua Warbler/Phragmacia substriata
Bar-throated Apalis/Apalis thoracica
Rufous-eared Warbler/Malcorus pectoralis
Cinnamon-breasted Warbler/Euryptila subcinnamomea
Yellow-bellied Eremomela/Eremomela icteropygialis
Karoo Eremomela/Eremomela gregalis
Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae)
Layard's Warbler/Curruca layardi
Chestnut-vented Warbler/Curruca subcoerulea
White-eyes (Zosteropidae)
Cape White-eye/Zosterops virens
Sugarbirds (Promeropidae)
Cape Sugarbird/Promerops cafer
Starlings, Rhabdornis (Sturnidae)
Common Starling/Sturnus vulgaris
Pied Starling/Lamprotornis bicolor
Red-winged Starling/Onychognathus morio
Pale-winged Starling/Onychognathus nabouroup
Thrushes (Turdidae)
Olive Thrush/Turdus olivaceus
Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Karoo Scrub Robin/Cercotrichas coryphoeus
Fiscal Flycatcher/Melaenornis silens
African Dusky Flycatcher/Muscicapa adusta
Cape Robin-Chat/Cossypha caffra
African Stonechat/Saxicola torquatus
Karoo Chat/Emarginata schlegelii
Tractrac Chat/Emarginata tractrac
Mountain Wheatear/Myrmecocichla monticola
Familiar Chat/Oenanthe familiaris
Sunbirds (Nectariniidae)
Orange-breasted Sunbird/Anthobaphes violacea
Malachite Sunbird/Nectarinia famosa
Southern Double-collared Sunbird/Cinnyris chalybeus
Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae)
Cape Sparrow/Passer melanurus
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow/Passer diffusus
House Sparrow/Passer domesticus
Weavers, Widowbirds (Ploceidae)
Cape Weaver/Ploceus capensis
Southern Masked Weaver/Ploceus velatus
Southern Red Bishop/Euplectes orix
Yellow Bishop/Euplectes capensis
Waxbills, Munias & Allies (Estrildidae)
Swee Waxbill/Coccopygia melanotis
Common Waxbill (H)/Estrilda astrild
Indigobirds, Whydahs (Viduidae)
Pin-tailed Whydah/Vidua macroura
Wagtails, Pipits (Motacillidae)
Cape Wagtail/Motacilla capensis
Cape Longclaw/Macronyx capensis
Finches, Euphonias (Fringillidae)
Cape Siskin/Crithagra totta
Yellow Canary/Crithagra flaviventris
Brimstone Canary/Crithagra sulphurata
Streaky-headed Seedeater/Crithagra gularis
White-throated Canary/Crithagra albogularis
Protea Canary/Crithagra leucoptera
Cape Canary/Serinus canicollis
Buntings (Emberizidae)
Lark-like BuntingEmberiza impetuani
Total seen 141
Total heard only 6
Total recorded 147
Mammal List
Common Name/Scientific Name
Mongooses (Herpestidae)
Cape Grey Mongoose/Herpestes pulverulentus
Bovids (Bovidae)
Springbok/Antidorcas marsupialis
Gemsbok/Oryx gazella
Steenbok/Raphicerus campestris
Grey Rhebok/Pelea capreolus
Hyraxes (Procaviidae)
Rock Hyrax/Procavia capensis
Old World Monkeys (Cercopithecidae)
Chacma Baboon/Papio ursinus
True Mice (Muridae)
Four-striped Grass Mouse/Rhabdomys pumilio
Brants’ Whistling Rat/Parotomys brantsii
Total seen 9